“Hey.” My voice doesn’t sound like my own when I greet my best friend.
“What’s wrong?”
“I slept with my stepbrother,” I admit with a wince.
“I’m sorry, you’re going to need to repeat that.”
“I slept with my new stepbrother.”
“Riiight.”
“Obviously I didn’t know it was him at the time.”
“I…um…I don’t really know what to say. Just start from the beginning.”
I do as she suggests and tell her everything that’s happened since meeting Callum last night.
“Jesus, V. How do you get yourself in this kind of shit?”
“I don’t fucking know. What am I supposed to do now?”
“Uh, not sleep with him again, I guess.”
Silence falls between us as I fight with what I want to say.
“You’re going to sleep with him again, aren’t you?”
“No…no, of course…Oh, I don’t know. I really want to, Cherry,” I whisper, not really wanting to admit it out loud. “He’s different. He makes me—”
“Oh my God, you’re falling in love,” she squeals, and I panic.
“What? No. No, no, no. I am not—”
“Cherry. You’ve never wanted to sleep with a man more than once. Ever.”
“I know,” I mutter. “This is so fucked up.”
“It could be worse.”
“Could it?”
“Of course. You’re not actually related. It’s not illegal.”
“That’s not really making me feel all that much better right now.”
“We can’t help who we fall in love with, V.”
“I am not—” I cut myself off and let out a long breath instead.
“Sure you’re not.”
When I eventually hang up, I fall back against the pillow and drop the phone to the bed.
Cherry’s words ring in my ears and I try to tell myself that she’s crazy. I’ve known this guy a few hours and slept with him a handful of times. No one falls that quickly. Do they?
12
Vaughan
We’re all gathered in the garden with fresh drinks right in time for the display to start when my phone once again pings.
Pulling it from my pocket, I stare down at the text from an unknown number. My stomach knots like it knows what’s about to happen, but I try to ignore it.
My hand trembles as I swipe the screen and wait for the message to appear. When it does, my stomach twists but I’ve no idea if it’s with fear or excitement.
Meet me upstairs. Now.
Glancing to my left at Mom, Derek, and his sisters, I debate what to do. My head tells me to ignore him and stay put, but my muscles are twitching for me to move.
“Vaughan, where are you going?” Mom calls as I move toward the house.
“I…uh…just need to use the bathroom.”
“Be quick, the fireworks are about to start.”
“Sure,” I say, but she’s already turned back.
My heart pounds as I step inside the house. I shouldn’t be doing this, but the temptation is too high.
My knees are weak as I climb the stairs, but I know there’s no going back now.
I don’t bother knocking when I get to his door, he’s expecting me after all. I blow out a slow breath to try to calm my racing heart as I push the handle down and slip inside. It’s dark with only the glow from the bathroom light illuminating the space. The curtains are open, and the stars twinkle in the inky black sky beyond.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come.” His deep voice has my stomach clenching with need. Stepping out from the bathroom in only a black pair of boxer briefs, my mouth waters for another taste of him.
“I-I shouldn’t be here,” I stutter, reaching back for the door handle.
“Maybe not, but you came and we both know you’re not leaving so you can stop the act.” He nods to where my hand is white-knuckling the metal in its grasp.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” My voice turns into no more than a breathy whisper, as he starts moving toward me.
“I had something better to do.”
“Something better than stopping the town burning to the ground?” I ask, my eyebrow rising.
“There are plenty of other guys to stop that from happening. I’ve got some fireworks of my own to set off.” His palm cups my cheek, his thumb running over my bottom lip.
“So cheesy.”
“Maybe, but you like it.” His tongue follows the trail his thumb made seconds ago before he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth. An involuntary moan falls from my lips as heat floods my core.
With his hands on my waist, he pushes me back toward his bed and pulls my shirt up and over my head. Our lips part for mere seconds as the fabric passes between us.
My shorts soon follow, and his boxers hit the floor seconds later.
“Are you ready for the fireworks?” he asks, rubbing the head of his cock against my clit.
He must take the moan that falls from me as a yes because he’s soon pushing inside me and filling me like no man ever has before.
13
Callum
“What will it take to make you consider my dad’s offer earlier?” I regret the question the second it falls from my lips, but I can’t help it. Lying beside Vaughan after feeling her coming around my cock once again makes thoughts about my future fill my head no matter how hard I try to fight them.
She’s leaving tomorrow and already I feel like chaining her to this bed to stop her from getting on the flight. Extreme? Maybe. She’s only been in my life a few hours, but I already know it’s not enough. I get the feeling that anything with Vaughan is never going to be.
“What offer?” she asks, her eyes glassy from the multiple orgasms I just gave her.
“The one about getting you a job here.”
She bolts upright as if the words I just said physically shocked her.
“You want me to move here? You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? Your mum’s here. It’s where you grew up. I know you have friends here. And…”
“And?” she encourages when I trail off.
“I’m here.”
“Callum,” she breathes as if even having this conversation is exhausting her. “I live in St. Louis. My life is in St. Louis. I can’t just up and move because of a couple of hot rounds in my recently discovered stepbrother’s bed.”
“Can we drop the stepbrother thing, please?”
“Why? It’s what you are. We both know this shouldn’t have happened tonight and that the best thing for me to do is get on that plane tomorrow and forget any of this ever happened.”
“What if I can’t do that?” I’ve never put my heart on the line like this before. I’ve never found a woman I felt deserving of but Vaughan, fuck. I need her not to leave tomorrow. I need to find a way to have her in my life, and not as my fucking sister.
“Fuck.” She drops her head into her hands. “We shouldn’t be doing this, Callum. What’s everyone going to think?”
“Was that a yes?”
“No, it’s not a yes. Not yet.”
“So it’s a maybe?”
“I don’t fucking know.” She jumps from the bed and starts pacing, not even noticing that she’s butt naked. I allow my eyes to take her in and my cock starts to swell again. “I have no fucking clue which way’s up right now. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing and it’s scaring the shit out of me. I like my life in St. Louis. I have a job I love and friends I adore. I can’t just give that all up because of the last few hours.”
“Why not? I can see in your eyes that you want this as much as me.”
“What if no one accepts us? What if we don’t work?”
Getting up off the bed, I intercept her and place my palms on her hot cheeks. “And what if we do, Vaughan? What if this is meant to be?”
“Wow, I didn’t have you down as an old romantic.”
; “Trust me, neither did I.”
“This is fucked up, Callum.”
“Only if we allow it to be. Do you think I’m worth it?”
“Worth what?”
“Everything.”
14
Vaughan
Stepping out into Derek’s back garden with my hand firmly clasped in Callum’s was hands down the scariest fucking thing I’ve ever done. I was convinced everyone would be disgusted by what was happening between us, but to my utter shock, the only thing that happened was for Jessie to shout out, “Pay up, losers,” while everyone else groaned.
“What’s going on?” Callum asks, narrowing his eyes at his sister.
“I called it first thing this morning. These lot all said I was crazy, but I knew. The way you looked at her, it was obvious.”
“So you’re all okay with this?”
Everyone turns to look at me and my nerves erupt in my stomach.
“It’s a little weird, I must admit,” Derek says. “But it’s not like you two planned it or anything.”
“And if you make each other happy, who are we to argue?” Mom steps away from Derek and pulls me into her arms. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, darling, and if Callum makes you even half as happy as Derek does me, then you’re one very lucky lady. You don’t find men like them every day, trust me, I’ve tried, and it’s taken me this long to find him.” For the first time, I actually believe her when she says that he might be the one after all this time. There’s definitely something different about her when they’re together. I guess, maybe, it’s the same thing that Jessie saw in Callum and I this morning.
Callum insisted on driving me to the airport the next morning. I begged him not to, knowing it was only going to make leaving harder but he point blank refused.
He stays with me until the final call for passengers sounds out around the terminal, then he turns to me, takes my face in his hands and lowers his lips to mine for the sweetest kiss I’ve ever received.
Tears burn my eyes and a lump the size of a football forms in my throat as I prepare to say goodbye to him. It’s been barely thirty-six hours since I arrived. How can so much change so fast?
“I’ll text you when I land,” I say when he pulls back.
“Good.”
I go to take my bag and step away, but at the last minute, he catches my fingers and pulls me back to him.
“Vaughan,” he says, running his eyes over every inch of my face as if he’s committing it to memory. It doesn’t do anything to keep the tears in that I’m fighting to keep from falling. “I’m falling in love with you.”
A sob rumbles up my throat and I turn and walk away before I totally break down.
I spend the whole flight and drive home regretting not saying anything to him.
The second I walk in through my front door, Cherry comes running from the living room and throws her arms around my shoulders. It seems she knows exactly what I need because everything I’ve been holding in suddenly comes flooding out of me.
“I’m in love with him, Cherry.”
“I know, sweetie. I know. Do you want wine?”
“Yes.” She takes my hand and leads me into our little kitchen.
“So what are you going to do? Can he move here or…Shit, you’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“I wrote my resignation on the plane and emailed it to Sharon the second I got signal.”
“Holy shit, V.”
“This is crazy, right? Tell me I’ve lost my mind.”
“No, I think it’s romantic. Plus, it’s kind of perfect.”
“Why?”
“Warren’s asked me to move in with him.”
Nodding, I consider her words. “So this marks the end of an era then?”
“I guess it does.”
“I’m going to miss you, V.”
“Me, too.”
“To us and our futures.” Lifting my glass, I tap it to my best friend’s and once again fight the lump clogging my throat. This might be the craziest and most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done in my life but weirdly, it feels like the most natural.
Epilogue
Vaughan
One year later…
Exactly a month after I handed in my resignation, I loaded my car with as much stuff as I could squeeze in and set off on my long ass drive to Colorado. Callum offered to fly out and make the journey with me, but it was something I just needed to do alone. I needed the time to transition from my old life in St. Louis to my new life back in my hometown. I never thought I’d ever move back to Milltown once I left for college. I was so desperate to get out and experience a little more of the world, but I’m weirdly excited to be going back. I truly feel like I’m going home.
Callum managed to get his house almost put back together in time for my arrival. We ended up spending a few weeks sleeping on a mattress on a dusty floor and sitting on garden furniture in the living room, but neither of us cared. We’d been in constant contact since the moment I left for St. Louis but just being together again, well, it was like we were teenagers discovering sex for the first time. It was magical, even if I was exhausted from my new job.
“Baby, are you ready?” Callum shouts up the stairs.
“Yeah, I’m coming right now.” Slipping on my flip-flops and grabbing my purse from the bed, I make my way downstairs.
It’s the Fourth of July and we’re heading to our parents’ place to watch the fireworks. And this year we’re actually going to watch them. I’ve already threatened Callum with bodily harm if he so much as suggests we sneak inside.
When we arrive, Mom and Derek have already started the grill and the smell makes my stomach rumble.
“Here they are,” Mom says when she spots us stepping onto the patio.
“We brought wine.”
“We told you not to bring anything,” she chastises, taking the bottle from Callum.
He shrugs and lets go of my hand to go and help his dad who’s fighting with some steaks.
“How was work?”
“Exhausting.”
“You should sit down. It’s not good to be on your feet so much.”
“I’m fine, Mom. You need to stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. You’re growing my grandchild, it’s my job to worry.”
Dropping my hand, I rub it over my round belly. Callum surprised me with a trip to England for New Year’s. He wanted to show me where he grew up and introduce me to his grandparents. We had an incredible time and I loved finding out more about him but what I wasn’t expecting was to discover that he gave me an extra Christmas present while we were there. Two weeks after we got back, I missed my period for the first time in my life. One peed on stick later revealed that we were going to be parents. I freaked out massively. Children were never really something I ever thought about, and they certainly weren’t something Callum and I had discussed, but there we were sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for it to be confirmed.
“I can’t believe we’ll get to meet him or her in only a few weeks. I’m so excited.”
“Where’s Lizzie and Jessie?”
“Lizzie should be here, but Jessie can’t make it. She’s too busy living out her dream.” We should have seen it coming really, but only days after she started on the ranch, it was obvious she’d found herself a new life. She really is living the dream in Montana with her sexy cowboy.
“How are you doing?” Callum asks, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his hands on my swollen belly.
“We’re good.”
“Are you ready for the fireworks?”
“Bring it on.”
Acknowledgments
I had such a blast writing this hot little insta-love story. I know it’s a little different from my usual, but I think it was exactly what Vaughan needed. I really hope you enjoyed it.
I really should thank my husband and daughter, who allowed me to sit and write this even though we were on holiday! No rest fo
r the wicked, right?
As always I need to thank my alpha reader Michelle and my betas Deanna and Tracy who dived straight into this story the second it landed on their Kindles. As ever THANK YOU so much for your support and encouragement.
Once again, thank you to all the other Flirt Club authors. You might all be totally crazy, but I couldn’t think of a better bunch of people to blow up my chat every single day!
A HUGE THANK YOU to Ellie from My Brother’s Editor for editing this for me on short notice and working your magic.
And finally, to you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed Vaughan and Callum’s story. Make sure you go back to where this group of friends first appeared in Dear All Star Player. And what’s next? Well, did you wonder what Jessie was doing this summer? You might find out soon…
Until next time,
Tracy xo
Cowboy’s Fantasy
Prologue
Jessie
From: Elizabeth Spencer
To: Jessica Spencer
Subject: YOU HAVE TO APPLY FOR THIS!
Jessie,
You know you were feeling lost for what to do this summer? Well, I think I’ve found you the perfect thing. I just stumbled across this job opportunity and you HAVE TO apply for it. It could bring all your fantasies to life and you could finally pop your cherry with a cowboy ;-)
Much love,
L xx
Excitedly, I open the attachment and stare at the job application for a live-in housekeeper on a ranch in Montana. Anticipation races through me and has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I’ve wanted to visit a real-life ranch for as long as I can remember, but working on one…that would be freaking unbelievable.
Flirty Ever Afters: A Flirt Club Collection Page 22
